Sorry, I wrongly thought Terminator was a cautionary tale to warn humanity to never empower machines to kill humans. Instead, it apparently is an inspirational reference manual on the joys and benefits of arming killer robots.
The United States’ National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence has studied the theme of autonomous artificial-intelligence driven weapons (aka “killer robots” in plain English) and its draft report recommends not just that the world refuse to ban them but that the U.S. explore their development.
The vice chair of the commission, Robert Work, said that robots would make fewer mistakes during battle and reduce the risk of attacking misidentified targets. Therefore, he claimed that the US must continue development of robotic war technology and keep its options open.
“It is a moral imperative to at least pursue this hypothesis.”
I always thought the moral imperative of war was “ we ain’t gonna war no more” but I guess it’s now “we gonna send our killer robots after you.”
The commission is led by Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google. You know, that company who used to have the slogan “Don’t be evil” before they became evil and bent on achieving a global monopoly in web searches, online advertising, and more.
Looking around the commission’s website, I note that the members are drawn from the worlds of defense, IT, and academia. Oddly, all of them have a vested interest in developing autonomous warfare; what a co-inky-dink. There don’t seem to be any members who represent the spheres of skepticism about AI technology, anti-war activism, or even moral philosophy.
So pardon me if I don’t buy the self-serving line that the commission is capable of judging our moral imperatives.
If there were “outsider” members, they might raise questions such as:
- If war is surgically neat, perfectly targeting only “bad guys”, is that not a moral hazard? Does it not make war more likely since there will (theoretically) be no collateral damage?
- Have you ever used a computer and watched as things went wrong, glitches that were annoying in your personal work but which would be catastrophic with killer robots?
- Exactly how long do you predict your killer robots will remain autonomous? I predict they will be hacked within 30 days and become hellish weapons under the control of other nation-states or even bored 14 year-olds who crave the excitement of remotely operated murderous mayhem
- Are you aware that there is exactly one program that is error-free and that it is the ur-program which exists only as an abstract ideal and never-to-be-achieved fantasy?
- What the f*ck is wrong with you people, did you never see the movie? Are you insane?
Seriously, Joe Biden needs to put a halt to this now. And then get his State Department or UN team busy on crafting a worldwide ban. This is suicidal idiocy beyond belief.